May Rainbow Card Challenge

Hello all you lovely crafters out there,

Hope you are having some nice weather and beautiful flowers in your neighborhood. It is just gorgeous here in Arizona. The cactuses are blooming everywhere. I have seen some cactus' in bloom before, but not in so many varieties as these. God certainly knows how to put beauty even in dry desert places. There is a tree that grows here that is different than any tree I have ever seen. The trunk is kind of twisty and branches out quite a lot. It has no bark. It's as smooth as can be and it is the color of bright green. Not quite neon, but almost. It is in bloom right now with very yellow small flowers that just blow and drift all over. I guess quite a few people are allergic to it. At first I thought that someone had painted them but when we started seeing them all over, we knew that wasn't a possibility. It is just amazing to see this bright green tree with yellow flowers in the middle of fields and roadways. God is a great ARTIST!!!

So, on to my card... the inspiration for the month of May is 

Periwinkle is such a beautiful color. I have always loved it, but it is not available in all mediums. So again, I had to mix some colors together and I think it worked out pretty well. It never shows up as nice on the computer of course, so it's hard to tell.

It is better in real life... promise!!!

This is a new stamp for me from Penny Black. I think one of my very first stamps were from PB, way back in 2005. That's when I made my first album for my daughter's birthday. I knew from the start that once I got my head into this craft, I would probably never quit. And that has been true. I have evolved, gotten into cards, multi-media, even grunge for a time, but I just continue to grow and move. It has become my life style!!! My place of joy, peace and sometimes, escape. I know, we've all been there!!!

This is a water colored card on Bristol paper. I like Bristol because it's smooth. I know a lot of people like the bumpy side but I do not, so I stick to smooth paper.

I also like to make my own envelopes. I love designer papers and when I get to use a paper that goes with my card, it makes me very happy. 

The dark centers are actually shiny gems that have different colors of blue in them. I tried to get them to show up in the photos but I just couldn't. They just look dark.

Thank you for visiting my blog. 

If you haven't already entered a card in this challenge, please do so.

I would love to see what you created!!!

Blessings,

Elena

Rainbow Card Challenge for April

Hello there crafty friends,

It is April already... spring has sprung and our roses are blooming again!!! 

I love it!!!

We had  5 birthdays in March so I was quite busy making cards for everyone. The first one was for my great-granddaughter who lives in St. Louis, MO. She turned 13 and I thought that was quite a milestone.  Since I don't see her very often, I couldn't get my head around any kind of a card fitting the occasion. I know, I know, I should have been able to just go with something... but I froze!!! So, I went out and bought a card and sent that. Done!!! When my son-in-law found out I bought a card, his words were: "What??? you make cards for those not nearly as important in your life, and you bought a card for your great-granddaughter's 13th birthday???" I couldn't believe that he (being a man) thought that making a card was that important!!! I just always thought it was something I wanted to do but that it didn't necessarily mean that much to people. It was nice, but not really that important!!! 

I now see this differently. It isn't so much what we make, it's that we take the time, the effort and fill the card with love that makes the impression on those we send them to. So my encouragement for all of us in this craft is that we don't make cards to impress people, we make them to love on people!!! The love will come through, and those you love will know you cared enough to spend your time, energy and a part of yourself with them. 

So, aside from all that, here is the card I made for the challenge blog I belong to. The challenge for the month of April is DAFFODIL!! I love yellow, but don't use it very much for a monochromatic card. 

I really enjoyed making this card. I had seen so many cards made with flowers making a frame and the sentiment in the middle. I fell in love with the look. So I gathered my flower stamps, picked the ones I wanted and started stamping around the outside of the card. BUT I decided right away that I wanted the flowers embossed in gold (I thought they would look better)... Well, that was a much harder process. But worth it! I loved the outcome. But I don't think I would do it again. It was way too hard because I didn't have enough flower stamps to just lay them down, I had to stamp them a few at a time, emboss, and then stamp a few more. Quite a process for one little card. I think I'll find an easier way to do that, because I do like the look and want to do it again.

Here is my card:

I used several flowers from different manufacturers

The Misti worked wonderfully to help me place them at the right angles

Embossed in Queen's gold from Ranger

Used Tombow dual brush pens and their blending pen

The sentiment is from a set I bought several years ago

I made my own envelope with yellow paper (I love to make my own envelopes)

I am also entering these challenges:

http://thesisterhoodofcrafters.blogspot.com/ Easter/Spring

https://watercoolerchallenges.blogspot.com/ All About Occasions

http://timeoutchallenges.blogspot.com/ Inspired by Words

So there you have it, 

Hope you will join us in this challenge. Yellow is FUN!!!